St. Joseph Columbarium

Our columbarium is a circular granite structure containing 4 rows with 20 niches in each row. Each niche can contain 2 urns of cremated remains (cremains) of the departed. Each niche is approximately 11.5”X11.5”X11.5”. (Installation summer of 2019)

Purchase of a niche includes two standard urns, engraving of the granite front, opening and closing of the niche and perpetual care.

Prices are $1400. - $1700 per niche. For complete details a columbarium policy and application folder can be picked up in the church office.

CAN CATHOLICS BE CREMATED: YES, In May 1963, the Vatican’s Holy Office (now the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith) lifted the prohibition forbidding Catholics to choose cremation. This permission was incorporated into the revised Code of Canon Law of 1983 (Canon #1176), as well as into the Order of Christian Funerals. It then became standard practice to celebrate the funeral liturgies with the body and then take the body for cremation. The Bishops of the United States and Holy See have now authorized the celebration of a Catholic funeral liturgy with the cremains when the body is cremated before the funeral. The church then encourages placement of the cremains in a final resting place.

MAY ASHES BE SCATTERED: NO. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground or keeping cremated remains in the home of a relative or friend of the deceased is not the reverent disposition that the Church requires.

WHY HAVE A COLUMBARIUM: The church property has traditionally been the final resting place of the bodies of deceased members of the Christian community. Burial within the church itself or in the adjacent churchyard was once the practice. The amount of land necessary for a burial ground is no longer available to most churches and a myriad of laws and regulations make it extremely difficult to establish a burial site. In recent years, cremation with inurnment of the cremains, rather than burial, has become more common. In addition, many people today are turning to cremation as an economical, dignified way to address the rising costs of funerals. In this way, the remains of the deceased can remain at the church that played such an important part of their lives.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS: A niche in a columbarium is modestly priced, aesthetically pleasing, and ecologically sound. The ambiance of the columbarium creates a comfortable meeting place for families and friends to gather in love and remembrance, a consoling link between life and death. The columbarium will offer a secure, handicapped assessable, and an easy stop before or after mass.

WILL THERE BE A FUNERAL/COMMITTAL SERVICE: YES, traditional services may continue as usual in the Church, and may include the committal service at the Columbarium. The burial service will be as prescribed by the Pastor, in consultation with the family.